To date, I have visited more countries than I have states. In fact, I’ve lived in more countries around the world than cities in the United States. A passionate traveler and an aspiring social change agent, I thrive when I’m in a new country, learning about a unique culture and assimilating into a different lifestyle. With a career in international education policy, I adapt easily and in no time wherever I am is home. From a rural village in Malawi to an earthquake-sensitive apartment in bustling Dhaka, Bangladesh, I’ve lived in all kinds of settings with a plethora of communities.

No matter where I am or have lived, the U.S. will always be my home. A born and raised Midwesterner, I spent my adolescent years planning my escape to bigger and better places. When I turned 18, I packed my bags for college, and haven’t moved back to Missouri for more than short stay since. Now, after a year or so in the U.S., I get the itch to go abroad and, within a month or two, I’m overseas once again.

I recently became engaged to a wonderful man. As we plan our wedding and next life chapter, I am in search of a more balanced lifestyle. I’ll never tire of traveling or immersing myself into new cultures. I know that. But I am ready to make the U.S. my home for the next several years and am prepared to calm my inner jetsetter’s itch and just ‘be’ in the States. I want to start our family at least somewhat near my own and establish some roots, regardless of where we go in the future.

Lately, I have also longed for exploration back in the Midwest. After living in exciting, albeit fast-paced New York on and off for the last five years, I miss the kind people and Midwestern charm. There are many States in America’s middle that I have yet to see.

So, in an effort to find my personal balance, I would love to visit Waconia, Minnesota and take a rock balancing class with artist Peter Juhl at the Minnesota Landscape Arboretum. Rock balancing is an undiscovered and underrated artistic hobby that I am eager to learn and practice, at least until I find my physical balance.